RWBY - Grimm Future
by Reploid7
Summary: Team HIJX, a team of new students to Beacon Academy have realized something strange going on with the creatures of Grimm. Joined with Team RWBY and Team JNPR, they will find that something big is coming to threaten their world.
1. The Grimm Alpha

RWBY – Grimm Future

Chapter 1: Grimm Alpha

Jake wandered through the school. It was his first day at Beacon. It wasn't a very good start, though. He nearly fell off the cliff upon exiting the airship to Beacon Academy. His cat ears twitched and his tail went stiff as he shivered at the memory. He ran his hands through his short yellow hair as he remembered the fear of dying. When Jake felt scared or nervous, he would do this. It was a habit that he's had since he was seven years old.

He listened to the Headmaster at the opening ceremony and left for the Main Hall to sleep, just as he told the students to do. "I wonder how I'll do in the test tomorrow."

When he got up, he stretched and got ready for the big test. At the forest, he and many other new students stood on launching platforms. As Professor Ozpin told them what they need to do to pass the test, the students began to get launched into the air.

Eventually, Jake got launched as well. He pulled out a mechanical whip sword he called Storm Bolt. He swung the blade of Storm Bolt at a thick branch, the blade extending and digging into the wood, he managed a safe landing and took off.

"He said that we're going to have partners," he muttered to himself. He picked up the pace, continuously gaining speed. He zipped through the trees for about two minutes before he crashed into a girl with black hair and red eyes. "Ow, that really hurt, you know. Watch where you're going!" She exclaimed. Jake apologized and helped her up off the ground. "So, the Headmaster said that the first person we see is our partner in this exam. I guess we're stuck with each other," He said, more of a question than a statement.

"Yeah, I guess so. The name's Haley Moriarty," she told him. "My name is Jake Martin. It's nice to meet-"

An Ursa Major burst from the trees and attempted to attack Haley, but she managed to avoid its claws. "You got a weapon?" Jake asked. She shook her head and dodged another attack. "I don't need one. My weapon is my Aura." She started to give off a light blue glow which extended from her arms as she leaped at the Ursa, lopping off its enormous head with her aura.

"Quite a creative way to use your Aura," Jake muttered, impressed.

"Let's go," Haley said indifferently. Jake followed her through the trees.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kanade Inari ran through the trees, taking down every Grimm that got in her way with her Halberd. Her long blue hair running through the wind. She noticed something moving about in the bushes to her left and attempted to attack it, but was blocked by a white staff with a single-edged blade at bottom of it. A white-haired boy in glasses had stopped her attack. "Just what do you think you're doing?" he asked, obviously irritated.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were a Beowulf," she said. The boy sighed and lowered his staff. "I will forgive and forget, but I trust this won't happen again. Now let's go. We've got to find the artifact that the Headmaster had told us about." He was about to walk off when he saw Kanade carrying something. It was a blue medallion with a wind symbol etched into it. "Is that the artifact?" Kanade nodded. She had already grabbed what she was supposed to collect, meaning that he had passed the area he was supposed to head to. He looked up at Kanade and said, "Impressively quick work. My name is Xavier Brim. It's a pleasure to meet a skilled young woman," he said. "Yeah whatever. The name's Kanade Inari and flattery isn't going to get you anywhere."

Kanade and Xavier were surrounded by Beowulves and Ursi. "How did we not notice them?" The Grimm didn't attack, though. They just stood there. It was strange, but it was no time to be questioning the situation. Kanade and Xavier leaped over the Grimm and ran.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Haley and Jake had found the area where the artifacts were being held. There were medallions on the pedestals. Jake grabbed a blue medallion with a wind emblem etched into it. "We've got what we came here for, now let's hurry to the temple and finish this exam." Jake began to take off, but ran into something hard and fell over. He looked up at a King Taijitu. The overgrown black snake was about to strike him, but paused inches from him. As if it froze in time.

"What the hell? What happened? Why'd it stop?" Haley asked as she helped Jake up. "I don't know, but I don't want to stick around to find out. Let's just get out of here." And with that said, he and Haley ran.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Professor Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch observed the exam. Ozpin looked quizzical. "What is happening to the creatures of Grimm? They've stopped trying to attack the students altogether." Glynda looked at the Headmaster and pondered this mystery. "The creatures of Grimm never hesitate to attack anything other than their own kind. Why would they stop attacking the new students?"

Ozpin thought, "What if this has something to do with the Alpha Grimm. If the Alpha exists then it would explain this irregular behavior, but it's supposed to be a mere legend."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Five hours later, the new students had reached the temple and passed their opening exams. "Haley Moriarty, Kanade Inari, Jake Martin, and Xavier Brim; The four of you have retrieved the blue wind medallions. From here on, you will be known as Team HIJX. Lead by, Haley Moriarty."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jake and his team had unpacked in their new dorm room. "That opening exam was a little too easy," Haley said. Xavier laughed, "Of course it was. That exam wasn't even a challenge."  
"I'm afraid that I'm going to have to agree with Xavier. I don't think the Headmaster was entirely honest with us when he said that we could have died during the exam. Especially considering that the creatures of Grimm stopped attacking us," Haley said, "Maybe the Headmaster had some way of controlling the Grimm."

Jake interrupted them. "He couldn't have. The creatures of Grimm are uncontrollable. Even the greatest minds of Vale couldn't find a way to do so. It's impossible to do that kind of thing. Something else was going on."

Kanade yawned. "Whatever, I don't really care about that. I'm just tired. Good night, guys."


	2. Myths and Legends

Chapter 2 – Myths and Legends

Professor Oobleck zipped across the classroom, talking about the myths and legends of Vytal. Xavier raised his hand. "Excuse me, Professor Oobleck, but is there really any historic significance behind these fairy tales?"

The professor drank from his coffee mug and answered, "Of course, Mr. Brim. The fact of what you call 'Fairy Tales' is that behind every supposed fictional story lies truth to some extent. After all, what you believe to be a bedtime story could have, at some time, been an actual historic event. However, the problem is that we may never know. That said, most people, be they human or Faunus, write them off as mere works of fiction.

"Now Class, the next Myth – Or point in time - we will be discussing is the Legend of the Grimm Alpha! People have once told of a leader among the creatures of Grimm that controlled all the rest, having what the other Grimm lacked – A sense of reason!"

Jake heard a girl sitting behind him say, "What nonsense. The creatures of Grimm are wild, uncontrollable monster that act on instinct. No one has ever managed to even do so much as pacify one without eliminating it." The girl had white hair and cold blue eyes. "Like I said before, Ms. Schnee, even Myths such as this have some truth to it."

Another girl with black hair fading to red at the ends and silver eyes whispered, "Come on, Weiss, don't be so uptight."

"How dare you, Ruby!"

A blonde girl with purple eyes tried to quiet her laughter and another with black hair and yellow eyes smirked. Professor Oobleck continued the story. "Now, this Grimm leader went by many names, but the Grimm Alpha was its most well known name. Some say that the Grimm Alpha was so intelligent - unlike the rest of its kind - that it could even speak.

"Some say that it would bring mass destruction with its command over all the creatures of Grimm. Others believe that it was the only thing that could stop the everlasting war that we fight, due to its intelligence."

Jake remembered the opening exam in the Emerald Forest, how all the Grimm had stopped attacking the new students and felt a sort of link between the two, but then wrote it off as a stupid idea. "We are all out of time for today. Class dismissed."

Jake ran after Weiss and grabbed her arm. "Hold on." Weiss looked at him and took her arm out of his grip. "What do you want?" She said, irritated. "You obviously didn't believe Professor Oobleck, did you?" The other three girls that sat next to Weiss approached. The blonde commented, "What tipped you in, kitty?"

"I'd prefer if you didn't call me kitty." Ruby looked at the blonde. "Sorry about my older sister. Sometimes she likes to kid around. I'm Ruby; it's nice to meet you." She held her hand out for a handshake and Jake accepted it. She pointed to the rest of the girls. "This is Yang, she's my sister, That one in the bow is Blake, and you've already met Weiss."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I assume you are all one team?" Ruby nodded. "Well, I'm a first-year. This is my team." He began pointing out his team members. "That one in the glasses is Xavier, the black haired girl is Haley, and the blue haired girl is Kanade."

Weiss looked at Jake a little closer, "Have we met somewhere before?" Jake nodded. "We may have." Haley spoke up. "You know, Weiss, I think that the story of the Grimm Alpha might be true."

Yang looked at Haley. "Why do you say that, Haley?" she pondered. Haley explained what happened during their opening exam. "You're not lying to us, are you?" Weiss asked. "All the creatures of Grimm just stopped attacking?" Blake said, indifferently.

"Yeah, that's what happened, but I doubt it has anything to do with the Grimm Alpha. Even I doubt its existence," Inari said.

"But even still, Kanade, it's a little hard to imagine that there isn't some kind of connection," Haley said. "Just forget about it, you guys," Xavier demanded, "We must hurry to the cafeteria before lunch period is over."


	3. Family Feud

Chapter 3 – Family Feud

Team HIJX ran as fast as they could to the cafeteria with Team RWBY, grabbing their food and taking a seat at the same table, with another team. Ever since they got to the cafeteria, Jake noticed Ruby and Blake staring at him. "What is it?"

"You're a Faunus!" Ruby stated. "Why state the obvious?" he asked. Ruby turned to Blake as she undid her bow, revealing black cat ears. Jake remained unsurprised. He could tell from the beginning that she was a Faunus just like him. "You've heard of the White Fang, haven't you, Jake?" Blake asked him while he was taking a sip of tea from his coffee mug.

Just hearing those two words made him break the handle on his coffee mug. His hand bled from the shards of glass that pierced his skin. He instantly regretted what he did. All the students at the table had their attention on him now. "Why'd you do that?" A blond boy asked him. "We should get that glass out and bandage your hand," Said a red-haired girl in armor, who seemed somewhat familiar. An orange-haired girl laid on her back on the table and moved across it to look at his hand. "Ooh, pretty," she said before a boy with black hair with a pink steak in it dragged her back across the table. "I despise them and their new methods of gaining respect. I hate everyone who thinks that violence is the solution. That includes the leader, the group, and my father!"

Blake got out of her seat and went around the table over to Jake, helping him out of his seat and bringing him to the infirmary. "You're father was a member of the White Fang?" She asked him. "Was? He still is, unfortunately."

"He's horrible. Back when the White Fang was a more peaceful group, both my mother and father were members. They went on to protest for a good long while, but when the White Fang underwent new management, that's when my father felt like he was in his element. My mother left him and took custody of my twin sister, Charlotte, while my father took custody of me. I left him behind."

They arrived at the infirmary and Jake had the glass taken out of his hand and was bandaged and told to clean them regularly until his hand healed. He and Blake left the infirmary. "Sometimes I wish that he would die one of these days, but then I start to feel guilty for even thinking that. He's still my father, no matter how much I hate him."

Blake pats his back and smiles. "I know what you mean," she said. "I knew you were a Faunus like me ever since I first saw you. I didn't have to see your cat ears to know. Some Faunus put off a very specific scent, you know."

Blake smiled. "Yes, I knew. It's a very good fact that can make hiding my heritage from the humans more fun, considering they can't tell the difference between Faunus and Human scents."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Team RWBY and Team HIJX waited in the cafeteria for their teammates to come back from the infirmary. "I wonder what's taking them so long. It's been half an hour since they went to the infirmary," Ruby said. Inari and Yang smirked at each other like they might know what was going on. Weiss and Haley asked them what they thought was going on. "Oh come on, guys. Both of our Faunus teammates have got White Fang sob stories and their both kitties," Yang said, teasingly. Inari nodded, saying, "Yeah, they're probably getting all lovey dovey!"

Ruby and Haley started to deny that, feeling a bit of responsibility over their teammates, despite there being no blood ties between any of them. Yang and Inari started laughing.

Their two respective Faunus teammates finally made it back to the cafeteria. Jake, despite having his had injured, was smiling. Even Blake seemed more spirited.

"So, did you two make out," Inari teased. They both blushed, but didn't deny anything, which powered the two girls' suspicions.


	4. The Good, the Bad, and the Infuriating

Chapter 4 – The Good, the Bad, and the Infuriating

Team HIJX went to their dorm. Jake threw himself onto his bed, Haley dressed into pajamas first, Xavier lay on his bed, reading a book, and Inari immediately fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. After lunch, Jake was being teased by Inari, while Yang was doing the same with Blake. It wasn't exactly a comfortable situation. Not to mention it was exhausting.

The next morning, was when teasing began all over again. The two Faunus ignored Yang and Inari during their Grimm Studies class with Professor Port, but Jake snapped at the two girls during combat class. Their teacher called on them. "Excuse me, you four, would you care to come down and settle things the old fashioned way?" The teacher asked.

"Would you allow a pair duel, Professor Rune?" Jake asked. Professor Rune allowed it and set up a match for Yang and Inari vs. Blake and Jake. "Begin the fight!"

Jake zipped around Yang with such speed that he appeared to be nothing more than a blur and struck her on the back of the head with the hilt of his weapon and continued to zip around, striking her over and over again.

Blake went after Inari and managed to disarm her, but was blocked from further assaults when she focused her aura to create a barrier with a small radius. While Jake was speeding around Yang, he tripped and fell past her, finding a few strands of her hair in his hand. When Yang realized what had happened, her eyes turned bright red with her anger and she swung her fist at Jake as hard as possible.

Jake couldn't get up and avoid her fist in time and took a powerful swing, knocking the wind out of him and even drawing blood. Then she blasted him into a wall with the help of her gauntlets. Jake couldn't move anymore. Yang's raw power was too much and he couldn't bear it to move an inch, let alone to stand up and continue fighting.

Blake managed to KO Inari. She turned to Yang and charged in.

"Oh, I wish they wouldn't fight," Ruby said, concerned with the effect the fight's outcome might have on the four warriors. "I have to admit, though, it is a good fight," Haley said, and Jaune agreed.

A while after Blake and Yang began fighting each other, class had ended and Professor Rune had to step in stop the two. Jake, still lying on the ground, blood running out the side of his mouth managed to put himself into a sitting position before he had to pause and wait for the pain to cease.

Blake and Inari helped him up and guided him to the Infirmary once again. Yang hung back with the others. Haley punched Yang in the shoulder for overreacting and seriously injuring her teammate. "You didn't have to do that, Yang!"

Xavier straightened his glasses and nodded in agreement with Haley. "It wasn't exactly required for you to beat him senseless. It would have been much better if you had at least held back a little on your punches."

Yang tried to argue that, "It was a fight and you don't win by pulling your punches." They all knew, though that even she began to feel bad. They left for their next class.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"We didn't have to fight you, you know," Inari said. "With you and Yang constantly teasing me and Blake, it would be stupid not to fight you. That's what I thought, at least." Blake remained quiet as they continued to the infirmary. They helped set him down onto the bed, and only then did Blake speak. "You know, it hasn't even been a week since you arrived and you're already getting yourself in trouble."

Jake smiled. "Yeah, I'm not exactly a model student, am I?" He looked at Blake and she looked back at him. (And I swear I could hear music in the air! w ) Then Inari went and said, in a mocking tone, "Aw, the love kitties are getting all wuvvey duvvey, awwww!"

Jake yelled as he bolted upright, "Get out of here already!" The sudden movement and yelling caused him to ache a great deal and he let himself fall back down on the infirmary bed. "Damn it, why did I do that?" He asked himself with a groan.

Inari exited the infirmary, leaving him and Blake alone. "Sorry, Blake; I'm really agitated right now." She just nodded and smiled at him. Then she leaned in and kissed him. It would have been a nice moment, had he not seen Inari peeking through the infirmary door with a camera in her hands and an evil smile on her face. He bolted up again. "I said get the hell out of he-" And he fell back down on the bed again.


	5. Defending Vale

Chapter 5 – Defending Vale

A month later…

"Remind me why I must go through with this, Kanade," Xavier muttered to Inari. "Come on, Xavier. I just want you to help me spy on Jake and Blake. That's all." Xavier looked at her, aggravated. "Why can't you just learn to respect their privacy, Kanade?"

Inari snapped at him, "Hey, I do respect their privacy. I'd just like to respect their privacy up close." Xavier straightened his glasses. "Maybe, but you certainly don't respect the idea of personal space."

"Just distract them so I can take some pictures of the two and we can call it a day!" This wasn't a good idea. Xavier waited for Inari to hide before he passed by the two Faunus that were the subject of their eavesdropping.

"Good afternoon, Jake and Blake. Fancy running into you-"

Blake held her hand up, interrupting him. "You're not good at this, Xavier, and neither is Kanade. You're a bad actor and she is terrible at hiding herself."

Xavier groaned and told Inari to come out of hiding. "Oh, you're good, Blake Belladonna," Inari said, holding a camera. "Why do you continue to spy on us, Kanade?" Blake inquired. "I just wanted to keep some romantic memories for you. You're both Faunus and even your names rhyme. I think it's kind of poetic," she replied.

"Kanade, if you really want to do this, I really must suggest that you do not bring me into it," Xavier groaned. Jake snatched the camera from Inari, saying, "I've told you again and again to leave us alone, Kanade!"

Inari attempted to take the camera back from him, issuing a tug-of-war with it.

A screech broke up their battle over the camera, turning their attention to the sky. "Four Nevermore? Why are there four of them?" Inari thought. The Nevermore screeched again and dove toward Vale, getting blasted by different types of dust.

"It's not every day you see four Nevermore in one place, is it?" Xavier said. The Nevermore continued their dive towards Vale, taking out a few rooftops. "What should we do, you guys?" Jake asked.

Inari laughed, pulling her halberd from the strap on her back. "Isn't it obvious? We have fun." Inari used her semblance in wind control to lift her up and rocket herself towards one of the giant monsters, landing on top of its back and throwing her weapon straight into it with a boost from a strong gust of wind, barely managing to sink the blade in. She hung onto her weapon and used it to ride the Grimm.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The rest of Teams RWBY and HIJX, along with Team JNPR pulled their weapons out, ready to fight. As they were on the other side of town, they didn't know where Jake and the others were. Nora shot her grenade launcher at one of the Nevermore, while Phyrra, Ruby, and Ren shot rounds at one of the Nevermore that wasn't currently busy with anyone else. Jaune began to go through strategy with everyone else.

Yang launched herself upwards towards the Nevermore that Inari was currently riding and landed flat on its back with her. "Yo, what's up?" she said to her. "What's up? Us, apparently," she replied with a laugh. Yang jumped off the Nevermore's back and pushed her back down with one of her gauntlets rounds and used the other to combine her raw power and bullet rounds to push Inari's halberd the rest of the way through the Grimm's body. The Grimm cawed and screeched and began to fall from the sky, barely managing to avoid destroying more of Vale when it attempts to keep itself in the air, only being able to flutter off to the side when Yang manages to break one of its wings.

One down, three more to go!


	6. Defending Vale Pt 2

Chapter 6 – Defending Vale Pt. 2

Weiss uses her dust reserves to launch fire and ice shards at the Nevermore that Ruby, Ren, and Phyrra were focusing their fire on. Burning it and (Pretty much) poking holes in its wings. It begins to lose altitude like the last and crash at the Far East side of the town and breaking its neck upon hitting the ground. Only two left.

Jake looked at Xavier and had him use his control over water to hit one of the Nevermore with rain, wetting it. Then Jake summoned up a great amount of electricity and fires it off at the Grimm, frying it to death.

The Nevermore hesitated, but retreated from Vale. Not something that a creature of Grimm would normally do. "What was that all about?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The teams met up with each other. "That was so awesome!" Yang exclaimed. "It was pretty exciting," Ruby agreed. "I don't think that destruction upon our fair city is very exciting to me," Weiss DISagreed. "Aw, I wanted to break its legs," Nora muttered, slightly disappointed. Phyrra, Jaune, Blake, and Jake remained silent.

"Now do you believe me, Weiss?" Haley asked. Weiss looked annoyed. "No, I don't! It's stupid to think that this Grimm Alpha even exists."

"But what could be making the Grimm act this way? Their actions as of late have been completely changed. They've become more of a challenge to face and they seem to be following logic more than instinct. If not the Grimm Alpha, or anyone controlling them at all, then I'd like to hear your explanation for it!" She snapped. Xavier and Jake looked at each other. "It is strange that the creatures of Grimm are not being as reckless and instinctual as they used to. Even I am starting to believe this supposed urban legend," he said as he straightened his glasses.

"Grimm Alpha or not, all that's important right now is that the Grimm are starting to act more intelligently than normal, so we need to be on high alert," Phyrra stated.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Haley walked out of her Team's dorm and ran to get a cup of black tea. Weiss watched her leave her room and followed her to have a talk with her. "Haley, I understand that you feel that this…this…fantasy monster is connected, but it's just not convincing," Weiss said as caught up with her. "I don't care if you don't believe it anymore. All I care is that you and I know that we have to be more careful."

"Why do you even believe in that preposterous little fairy tale?" Weiss asked. Haley glared at the SDC heiress. "Of all people, I'd think that you would have paid attention to Professor Oobleck in class," she responded.

"Of course I paid attention!" Weiss was starting to feel a bit insulted and was starting to think that Haley might be comparing her with Ruby and Jaune. "Then you should remember what he told us. Every myth, every urban legend, story, or fairy tale, has some truth behind it.

"You should take that lesson to heart, Weiss Schnee." With that, Haley walked back to her dorm and shut the door.


	7. His Secret?

Chapter 7

His Secret

The white-haired heiress strolled down the halls, heading to her dorm, the rest of her team behind her. "That sparring match was awesome!" Ruby exclaimed. "That kitty sure can pack a punch when he wants to," Yang replied. The only member of RWBY that wasn't present was Blake, who had decided to stick around with HIJX.

Jake had been bothering Weiss a lot lately. He wasn't being particularly annoying, but there was something about him that almost makes her want to tear her hair out. Every day, she felt the nagging suspicion that the Faunus was hiding something from them.

She kept silent about so far, but she couldn't help it. As soon as they reached their dorm, she went right out and told them what was bugging her. "That Jake boy is keeping something from us!" Weiss blurted out. "You mean other than his undying love for our own little kitty?" Yang replied, making Ruby chuckle.

"I'm not kidding, Yang, that shady Faunus is hiding something and I'm going to find out just what it is."

This was nothing particularly new. As you might have figured out, Weiss's family has been at war with the White Fang, an organization built on nothing but Faunus members. Originally, they were a peaceful group; just you're average banner-waving rebellion. That was until it went under new management and it became more than just signs and protests. Soon the White Fang had gone into more violent methods of gaining their equality. They've been stealing dust shipments from the Schnee Dust Company for quite a while.

"Weiss, come on. We're all entitled to our own secrets, right?" Ruby mentioned this once before as well, when Jaune had been hiding his present to her last Christmas until the right time. "Yeah, come on, Weiss, you've got to respect Jake's privacy."

Weiss stormed out of her dorm, angry that her team wouldn't side with her. She walked every single anger-filled step to the Team HIJX dorm room. When she got there, she found the door open barely a crack and she could hear Jake humming to himself.

She burst into the room and found Jake pulling his shirt off, his back turned. That's when she saw it. Dozens of scars from dozens of cuts and bruises from the past, but what stuck out was the most shocking of all. Roughly seared onto his back was the White Fang insignia. "I heard you coming, Weiss. You don't exactly have the lightest footfalls. See it? That's my secret. My dad did this to me. Ever since my mother divorced him, he's beaten me down and eventually, he did this to me!" He pointed at the insignia.

Weiss was shocked by how he knew what she came here for. Guess those heightened Faunus senses really come in handy. She stared at the scar. "Now are you done being nosey?" He asked as he slipped a new shirt on.

She was at a loss for words. "But why-?" she began. "What, why? Why would he do this? Why would a father do something this heartless to his own child? Is that what you're wondering? Well, I don't even know the answer to that myself, so how's about you get out and leave me alone." He approached Weiss, put his hands on her shoulders, turned her around, and walked her out of the door.

Weiss didn't know what to do next except to head back to her own room. That's Blake and the rest of HIJX arrived. "What's up, Weiss?" Inari exclaimed, but stopped herself when she got a close look at the sad expression on her face.

"What's wrong, Weiss? A sad face is definitely not like you," she asked. Weiss didn't answer, but instead walked back to her room. When she entered her dorm, she noticed that Ruby and Yang were already gone. She walked to her bed and recalled the scars strewn across Jake's back and, in that, saw her own childhood.


	8. Family Reunion

Chapter 8

Family Reunion

During their sparring practice, Professor Goodwitch stood out on the class arena and made an announcement. "Remember, students, we will be having the annual Remnant Ball in two weeks. You will all attend, so it's your decision whether you wish to bring a partner or come alone. Remember to dress elegantly and accordingly."

XXXXXXXXXX

"I didn't know we had a dance on its way!" Jake blurted out. "I gotta get a tux! I'll see you guys later," He said as he ran off. "I guess someone from a common family doesn't normally prepare for these things," Xavier noted.

Xavier was just like Weiss. His family was rich and well-known. It's no wonder he would have attire for such things. "Not very many people tend to think about these things unless it's coming straight at them, I guess," Haley muttered.

"Hey Blake, you wouldn't happen to have a dress, would you?" Inari asked. Blake nodded silently and continued walking along.

Yang started to pat Ruby's head, telling her how she needs to get a date fast. Xavier and Weiss had already agreed to be partners at the ball. Ren had thought ahead as well and asked Nora out, more to keep an eye on her than anything else. Inari had managed to grab a date with a boy called Will Fury. Jaune had asked Phyrra out just last night. And I'm pretty sure you already know who Blake is going to the ball with.

The only ones who didn't seem to have dates yet were Yang, Ruby, and Haley.

"I'm kind of surprised that you don't have a date yet, Yang!" Inari said disappointingly. Yang just shrugged her shoulders. "I wonder if it's because she intimidates most of the boys here," Xavier said mischievously.

Yang was about ready to bust his head open. Ruby zipped to her dorm room nervously. Haley went around asking certain boys if they were free for the ball.

XXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Jake was zipping through the streets of Vale, looking for a shop that would sell him a tux. He managed to crash into someone. "Sorry about that," he said as he got up. "So what have you been doing with your life, Jake?"

Jake recognized that voice. He looked up to find his father staring at him with a smug grin on his face.

Jake backed up fast, unsheathing Storm Bolt. His father held his hands up in mock surrender. "Wow, you're so scary. I see you still don't like me."

Jake growled at him, "Who could? Not even mom liked you!"

Jonathon Martin chuckled at his son. Jake might have been ready to fight, but that didn't change the fact that his body was shaking all over. He was scared. He knew he didn't stand a chance against him.

"I don't feel like fighting a kid right now, so I bid you adieu, son." He turned around, his jacket bearing the White Fang insignia. Jake growled attempted to hit him from behind with a lightning bolt, but Jonathon raised his hand and blocked the attack with his aura.

"Nice try, kid," he said before he continued to make his leave.

By the time his father was out of sight, Jake had sheathed his sword and headed back to Beacon. He hated that man, but he wasn't strong enough to beat him.

Not by a long shot.


	9. The Remnant Ball

Chapter 9

The Remnant Ball

Jake was waiting for Blake to arrive. Everyone else had already gotten to the ballroom.

Jaune and Phyrra were getting something to eat at the food lineup. Weiss and Xavier were just now arriving. Xavier had on an impressive white tux and Weiss had on a beautiful blue and white dress. Ren was currently occupying himself by keeping Nora from swinging on the chandelier like an ape. Kanade and Will Fury were already dancing together. Yang went to the ball alone. Ruby, surprisingly, was asked out to the dance by someone who was one year older than her. He was a freshman though and Jake didn't even know his name. (Because Ruby skipped two whole years getting into Beacon)

He was starting to feel disappointed that Blake hadn't come by yet. Jaune and Phyrra approached and Jaune handed him a plate of smoked salmon, peach slices, and a baked potato. Jake took the plate. "Thanks, you two."

"So, has Blake really not arrived yet?" Phyrra asked, concerned. Jaune tapped her shoulder and pointed at the entrance. There stood Blake in a gorgeous black and white dress. Seeing her in a dress nearly made Jake's jaw drop. He could hear Yang chuckling at her teammate's appearance.

Jake got out of his seat and headed over to greet her. "I thought you weren't going to come," Jake said. He tugged a little at the collar of his tuxedo. "Well, I don't normally dress like this and it is a little embarrassing," she admitted.

"Come on, everyone's got to see you." They walked into the open and were surrounded by their friends. While they praised her taste in finer attire, Jake approached Ruby and her date. "You know, I almost expected you to lose your chance at a date, Ruby," he said with a laugh.

Ruby blushed. One kind of red she doesn't welcome openly. "Yeah, so did I, but here I am. Oh, I should probably introduce you. Jake this is Relic Ray, my date for tonight." She barely got that last part out. Both Ruby and Relic seemed very nervous towards each other.

"Relax you two. I can almost feel the floor shake from your trembling," he chuckled. "That's easy for you to say. You've got more confidence. You're better looking and I'm… me," Relic replied. Ruby didn't waste any time trying to cheer up her date. "No, Relic, you're perfectly fine!"

"She's right, dude. After all, Ruby said yes when you asked her out, didn't she?"

Relic nodded, starting to feel better now. "Well, I'll see you two later!" As soon as he got back to Blake she smiled. "You certainly handled that like a pro."

Jake's tail swayed happily. "They just need confidence, that's all."

"I'm pretty sure you're the one who gave that to them."

Jake laughed and chewed on some of the salmon on his plate before he handed a piece to Blake on his fork, which she gladly bit into.

Then, Jake set down the plate and bowed to Blake and said, "Milady, may I have this dance?" Blake laughed and walked to the center of the ballroom with him and started to dance with Jake.


	10. The Disastrous Dance

Chapter 10

The Disastrous Dance

Jake and Blake were ready to dance when they realized that neither of them knew what to do. "How do we do this?" Jake asked. Blake just shook her head. Two warriors that are ready to face an onslaught of Grimm, but they don't know how to dance formally.

Weiss and Xavier groaned at their teammates' lacking in etiquette. The two white-clad warriors approached their Faunus friends and instructed them on what to do. The two cats were embarrassed and they could hear some of their friends stifling laughter in the background.

Jake looked over his shoulder and found that Ruby and Relic were doing a perfect job dancing on their own. "I'm getting the feeling that we're the only ones who weren't prepared," Jake muttered. "Coming to a ball without knowing how to dance," Xavier moaned, "How foolish could you possibly be?"

"I believe I speak for both of us when I say that we'd rather face a Deathstalker than this," Blake commented.

"Hey, guys have you seen this view," Ruby said, pushing Blake to the windows, while Relic did the same with Jake. "Yeah, it's amazing isn't it?" Relic exclaimed. Ruby and Relic had saved Blake and Jake from that painfully embarrassing situation. "Thanks guys, I owe you one," Jake whispered.

"I never want to dance again," was all Blake could say at the moment. Relic and Ruby chuckled and grinned as we got to the windows. "You're right, Relic, it is amazing."

At that moment, the four of them noticed a glowing red light in the distance and it soon got bigger and bigger. "It's a dust flare! Get down!" Relic pushed them all out of the way and jumped back as the windows shattered.

Next thing they knew, grappling hooks were thrown into the ballroom and members of the White Fang had climbed up into the building and begin beating on the students before the teachers and staff fought back.

Jake stood and helped Blake and the other on their feet. Amidst all the chaos, Prof. Oobleck had shouted to the students, "Flee to the dorms and grab your weapons, now!"

Jake and the others ran as fast as they could to get to their dorms. HIJX managed to make it to their dorms first. Jake grabbed Storm Bolt and immediately headed back to the dorm room. He decided to cut through the cafeteria to get to the ballroom faster.

Bad move.

Jake found two White Fang grunts accompanied by a red-haired Faunus with horns. What stood out about this man was that he wore a red and white mask over his face. "You're one of the failed experiments, aren't you?"

"You must be the Jake Martin, right? You're going to have to come with us now," the man said. Jake pulled Storm Bolt out of its sheath and pointed the tip at the Faunus. "I'm not going back there, I'm not going to end up like you in those godforsaken experiments!"

The man snapped his fingers and the two grunts rushed in and attacked him on both sides. Jake pressed a button on the hilt of his sword and his sword split down the middle into two separate weapons. He blocked the attacks of both the WF grunts and responded by sending lightning down his weapons and into the Faunus, forcing them to back away.

Blake burst into the cafeteria to see Jake fighting off the White Fang. She looked at the Faunus that was hanging back and enjoying the show and recognized him. Adam Taurus, her former partner in the White Fang. He was the last person that saw her before she left them.

Her weapon took on its gun form and she threw it at Adam, hanging onto the cord that was attached. The horned Faunus blocked the attack with his katana. She rushed in and picked up speed, striking him from all sides, leaving afterimages in her wake. Adam seemed to have no problem fending off her attacks.

Jake zipped in and slashed one of the grunts across the chest and fired a ball of lightning at the other. The grunt stepped out of the way, but as soon as the ball of lightning was directly next to him, it burst into an electric storm which struck the poor guy from all sides. He fell to the ground, his body burned to a crisp.

Adam had grown tired of simply defending himself and decided to take the offensive. As Blake came in to strike his chest, he pulled the trigger on his sheath and the katana shot out of and hit her in the face with the handle.

As she recovered from the blow, Adam came forward, grabbed his weapon and attempted to cut her throat. Jake sped in deflected his strike, taking the opportunity to kick him back. "Get out, Taurus; I'm not coming back with you!"

"You don't have a choice in the matter. As for you, Blake, I was sad to see you go. Your skills were a great help to the White Fang."

"I don't care. I don't regret leaving, and I never will!"

"Well spoken, Ms. Belladonna." That voice was distinctly female and it sounded familiar. "The White Fang have turned into full-blown criminals for what they did. I don't blame you for leaving." A blade was suddenly placed up against Adam's throat as a woman appeared from the darkness. "As for you, Jake, it's good to see you again. Although I wish I could greet you under better circumstances."

It was Jake's mother, Melody.


	11. Operation Alpha

Chapter 11

Operation Alpha

It wasn't long after until the White Fang was pushed back and beaten and several key members were arrested. "Why are you here, Mom?" Jake asked.

"Well, I wanted to see how you've been doing after all these years. Though, while I was heading to the academy, I happened to see the attack on the school and I got here as fast as possible," she explained. She looked over at Blake and smiled. "And who might you be?"

Blake bowed her head. "My name is Blake; it's a pleasure to meet you."

Melody laughed, "You don't have to be so formal. I take it you're Jake's girlfriend he's told me so much about in his letters, right?" Blake blushed and nodded her head silently. "So wait, if you're here, mom, then that means so is Charlotte, right?"

"That's right, brother."

Jake turned around just as his twin sister ran into him for a hug. "It's good to see you, sis." Jake looked up and saw the officers take Adam away. The headmaster, Prof. Ozpin asked the officers to take him to his office.

"Hold on, Mom, sis, I'll catch up with you later."

Jake followed Ozpin and Adam all the way to the main office. As they entered his office, Jake pressed his ears against the door and listened in on his conversation.

"So, what were your intentions of raiding my prestigious academy? I noticed that you had taken a certain interest in that Faunus boy you were fighting earlier. Why would the White Fang care about an average Faunus? And what is the purpose of that mask that you wear on your face? It certainly looks like a Grimm mask."

Adam remained silent. He obviously wasn't planning on telling Ozpin anything. What a devoted member he was. It was almost admirable.

"I take it the White Fang has resorted to experimentation?"

Experimentation, for what purpose? Jake had only a few vague ideas, but they were better than nothing. Then, he heard it. That one title that made him realize what they were doing. "I take it that this so-called Operation Alpha has been put into effect, am I correct?"

Jake zoomed off to his dorm room to think, passing his friends on the way. "What was that?" Ruby pondered. "That blur was Jake, my brother. He's rushing off to someplace private where he can think," Charlie said, stepping forward.

"He probably just went to his dorm room. I'll go get him." Weiss ran off to go find Jake.

By the time she reached his dorm, he was deep in thought. She knocked a few times on the wall to get his attention and he raised his head from his desk. "What is it, Weiss?"

"What's wrong, Jake? Did the attack on Beacon bother you that much?"

He shook his head. "It's not what the White Fang did; it's what they're doing."

Weiss cleared her throat and asked if she should gather their teams and discuss this. "Grab Ruby, Blake, Yang, and the rest of my team. I'll tell them directly. The rest of the school is going to find out what's going on eventually anyway, so there's no need to tell anyone else right now."

Weiss gathered the teams like Jake asked, but what he wasn't counting on was Charlotte getting into the mix. "Why are you here, Charlie?"

Charlotte grinned mischievously and pat her brother on the shoulder, "You don't keep secrets from your family, brother, least of all from me." Jake pressed his face into his palms. "Whatever, just take a seat and listen up."

"Alright, you guys, I overheard a bit of Ozpin's chat with Adam Taurus. He asked him about a number of things, but there were only three things that caught my ear. One, Ozpin had compared Taurus' mask to that of a Creature of Grimm's. Second, that the White Fang were conducting experiments. Last of all, I heard Ozpin mention something called Operation Alpha."

"I've only heard mention of this operation one other time before, but-"

Xavier raised his hand, interrupting Jake. "Forgive me for being rude, but where else could you have heard rumor of this, if not only from Ozpin?"

"Quiet Xavier, I'm certain that Jake will explain," Haley said to her teammate. "Thank you, Haley, I will. I am the son of a member of the White Fang. This is something only Blake, Weiss and the rest of my family know about. This is proof," he said as he turned around and lifted his shirt to reveal the scars and the WF insignia burned onto his back.

Weiss flinched at the sight of his scars. "That's awful," Inari whispered. "I didn't know about this, brother," Charlotte muttered. He pulled down his shirt and turned back to face them. "About seven years ago, my father came into the house with his weapon drawn. Not an unusual sight for me. I thought he was going to beat me again, but he had different plans."

"Instead, he brought me somewhere unfamiliar. I was blindfolded and tied up. I heard my father talk to someone about using me for Operation Alpha. Thankfully, the authorities found the White Fang members and freed me and a few others. I got away, but I never found out what Operation Alpha was all about, although I'm sure Ozpin will explain the rest."

"Why do you say that, Jake?" Haley asked. He and Charlotte smiled. "It's because he's been listening outside the door this whole time. You can come out now, Headmaster." Ozpin walked into the room on cue, accompanied by Professor Goodwitch.


	12. His Most Essential Part

Chapter 12

His Most Essential Part

"Care to tell us why you were listening in on our discussion, Ozpin?" The headmaster smiled and replied, "For information, of course. You think I didn't notice you run off?"

"Furthermore, young man, you were eavesdropping on Professor Ozpin beforehand," Glynda commented, oh so tensely.

"After what I've heard, I've decided to include you in the operation."

"What operation?" Kanade questioned. "Originally, I had only intended for Team RWBY to undertake this mission, but after finding out that you yourself have connections to the White Fang, I have decided to include you and the rest of your team in this mission, Jake."

"It is a matter of infiltrating the main base of the White Fang in order to learn more about their so-called "Operation Alpha". I need only one week to get the information needed to locate their main base. Prepare yourselves for what comes next."

_Later that night…_

Everyone who didn't belong in the room had taken to their own rooms after Ozpin left Team HIJX's dorm. Jake climbed out his window and grabbed hold of a pipe and climbed down the building, straight to the courtyard.

Jake took a stroll around Beacon and stopped at the statue that stood in front.

"You look pretty depressed." He turned to face the young scythe-wielder. "I'm fine, Ruby."

"You don't look fine. You're not a very good liar, Jake. Your tail gets stiff when you lie."

Jake groaned, "Fine, you caught me." Ruby pat his shoulder.

"Are you afraid of facing your dad when we begin the mission?"

"A little, I guess, but it's nothing to worry about. I'll pull myself together by the end of the week. If I see him during the mission, I'll kill him."

"No, you won't," she replied sternly, "You've said before, to Blake, that you wish him dead, but you'd still feel disappointed in yourself because no matter how low he is, he's still your father. If you do find him during the mission, you still won't have it in you to kill him. So says your heart and soul. You're most essential parts. If you DO kill him, you kill yourself and part of makes you, you!"

How the hell does someone like Ruby spout words of wisdom?

She was right though. He didn't have it in him to kill family members, not even his father.

"It doesn't make you weak or feeble-minded or anything. You're you and nothing else. Now come on, let's go back to our teams and prepare. That's all we can do right now."


	13. Birthdays and Brawls

Chapter 13

Birthdays and Brawls

After last night, Jake had begun to feel better about the week he and his team were being granted to prepare. However, something came up that caught him off guard. "Blake's birthday is tomorrow!?"

Yang nodded her head, feeling slightly disappointed in the blonde Faunus. "No pressure, but you'd better hurry and grab a present for Blake." Jake zipped off at top speed in frenzy.

Why wouldn't Blake tell him this? During his blurred speeding through the academy, he crashed into a brown-haired rabbit Faunus that was carrying a tower of books in her arms. The impact scattered the textbooks everywhere and both Faunus fell to the ground.  
"I'm sorry," the girl quickly said as she began to collect her books. He took a closer look at the Faunus and soon came to recognize her.

"It's my fault for crashing. I shouldn't have been running in the first place. It's not your fault, Velvet." He had only talked with Velvet a few times before, due to the fact that she normally kept to herself. That was because CRDL were always picking on her because of her heritage.

Jake helped her retrieve the textbooks and helped her carry them across the school grounds. "So, where are we going with these books anyways? We're not heading towards the dorm that's for sure." Velvet shook her head silently. "No, I'm returning these to the library."

"Hm."

When they entered the library, Jake noticed towers, even mountains worth of books just stacked on top of each other. In the middle of this circle of literature, Blake sat, eyes focused intently on the pages in front of her. "My goodness, Blake, I knew you liked books but I didn't think you liked it THAT much."

Blake looked up at Jake. "I have nothing else to occupy my time, so why not?" Jake scratched his head. "Well, how about a sparring match. The arena is still open for a few more hours."

"But against who?" She got him there. It was still pretty early in the morning, so it's doubtful that anyone would be in the sparring room right now. Disappointed, Jake left the library and decided to go to downtown Vale and visit a few shops.

"What does Blake enjoy…" He muttered to himself.

"You know that she likes books!" Ruby's sudden appearance made him jump.

"You could always get her a new book," she suggested. Jake shook his head, "From what I've seen recently, she's got enough books to last her until the age of 40!" Ruby laughed and held up her gift. "No one else in my team could figure out what they wanted to give her, so we made my gift a joint gift."

"Wow, I didn't think your team could be such lazy bums."

Jake entered a dust shop next and browsed all the crystals and powder dusts, his mind scrambling to get an idea. Then something came to him. "I'd like some burn, frost, and flare dust crystals, sir. Ten of each." Jake paid the cashier and collected the crystals.

"What are you gonna do with all those crystals, Jake?" Jake pressed his index finger to his lips.

"It's a secret." Ruby pouted and he laughed. "Relax, you'll find out soon enough."

_The next morning…_

Jake woke up and discussed Blake's birthday plans with the others, who were all lingering in his dorm room, disturbingly enough. He left his dorm and began to formulate his own plans when he heard Velvet cry out in distress and Cardin laughing.

When Jake found them, Cardin was pulling at her ears again, ordering her to hand over the plate of brownies she made. "No, they're not for you, they're for someone else," she cried out, prompting Cardin to pull on the poor Rabbit Faunus' ears harder.

Jake unsheathed Storm Bolt and pointed the tip of the blade at Cardin's torso. "Leave the girl alone."

Cardin pressed his hand against the blade to push it away when Jake sent a powerful wave of electricity through the weapon, knocking Cardin onto his side a few feet back. "Try it again, and I'll make sure you don't feel your legs for a month."

Jake grabbed Velvet's hand and led her out of the hallways. Velvet thanked him for his assistance, but he thought nothing of it. "I take it that RWBY let you in on the party plans?" She nodded her head. The only reason he knew this was because there was a card on the plate of brownies that read 'Happy Birthday, Blake!'

"Don't worry; Cardin won't bother you for a while. If he does, I'll be sure to make that threat a reality. Nora says it all the time, but if he hurts you again, I really WILL break his legs."

_A few hours later…_

Jake and Blake were heading to the café. When they reached the café, everyone was there, giving out birthday greetings to Blake. Teams JNPR, RWBY, and the rest of HIJX were there, as well as a few solitary guests, such as Jake's mother and sister, Relic Ray, and Velvet Scarletina.

Ruby handed out her Team's joint gift to Blake and she found multiple installments to a book series that Jake never took interest in. Next, Jaune and Phyrra pooled their money together to buy her an ebony bracelet with an emerald crystal dangling on the side. Nora and Ren (Mostly Ren) had chosen to make all the food for her birthday as her present. Ren had to keep Nora from 'sampling' the food numerous times. Xavier and Kanade had mirrored Jaune and Phyrra's gift and bought her a bracelet made of Ivory with a few pearls embedded in it.

After thanking everyone else for the wonderful gifts, she turned to Jake. "Don't worry, I've got a present for you too, but let's not forget a little Faunus who wanted to come to this party." Velvet had been hiding behind Jake for a while. Who could blame her, though? Jake dragged her out of hiding and placed her in front of Blake and she handed her the brownies she made that day that she was so courageously guarding from Cardin.

Afterwards, she tried to hide again, but Yang just picked her up by the back of her shirt and sat her down at one of the tables with Relic Ray, who was invited by Ruby.

"Your last gift is going to have to wait until the sun goes down, Blake. Until then, we've got plenty of time to kill."

Everyone enjoyed their time at the party, especially Blake. After a while, Yang and Inari began to pick fights with everyone else to pass time. Jake stayed out of it, because he wasn't entirely in the mood. Nora began to bother Jaune and Phyrra, urging Ren to step in and drag the red-head away from the two.

Charlotte and his mother came over to greet Jake and Blake. "So how's the party, Blake?" Charlie asked. "It's wonderful. It was nice of you all to throw me this party."

"Well, Jake loves you and wants you to be happy! Don't you Jake?" His mother put him into a headlock, prompting him to zap her to get her to let go. Then, Charlotte asked the most awkward question ever.

"So, brother, you plan on making kittens with her?" Charlie began to taunt and tease his brother while imagining what the kids would look like.

Jake was immediately thrown into a fluster…again. After which, he punched his sister in the gut and his mother had to take her away.

_Later…_

The sun had gone down and it was finally dark enough to give Blake his and Haley's gift.

"Alright everyone, it's time. Yang, could I use your gauntlets for a second? Nora, I need your weapon too." Yang wanted to ask why, but decided against it and reluctantly gave her Ember Celica to Jake. He slipped the gauntlets on and unloaded her regular ammunition, handing it to Ruby.

He inserted a number of customized dust shells into the weapon and loaded one grenade into Nora's weapon and fired the Ember Celica towards the sky.

What came out were special kinds of Dust flares that Haley customized herself from the dust crystals he bought the day before.

When the flares got high enough, they burst into beautiful red and blue fireworks which formed letters.

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BLAKE!**

The red fireworks gave off beautiful shining sparks, while the blue fireworks showered us with snow.

"This is mine and Haley's gift, Blake. I came up with the idea for it and bought the materials, but Haley was the one who crafted the fireworks and made it possible."

Haley gave Blake a big hug and we all wished her a happy birthday.

**NOTE:**

**Sorry that it isn't a Valentine's Day special.** **I'll see if I can get the V-day chapter in today, but if I can't, then that's too bad. That's going to come a bit late, but don't worry. You'll get a V-day filler episode soon. Afterwards, we'll be going back to the main story. Reviews are appreciated. **


	14. Valentine's Day

**Note: Sorry that it's late. I've had some unexpected delays while I was making the birthday chapter, forcing me to post this chapter later than I hoped. Enjoy!**

Chapter 14

Valentine's Day

Two days after Blake's birthday and it was already Valentine's Day. Students at the academy were already handing out candy, flowers, etc. to other students. I saw some Faunus give to other Faunus, Faunus give to humans (As well as the other way around), Humans give to humans, girls give to boys, boys give to girls, and even students giving to others of the same gender. For whichever reason, it didn't matter to Jake.

Jake was never entirely fond of Valentine's Day, because before he came to Beacon, no one really thought of giving him anything. The only thing was that he didn't mind if he was overlooked. He'd just go to his room, pull out some headphones and drown himself in calm music.

This time, however, was different. He was heading to his dorm to do his usual V-day routine when he was approached by Ruby and Yang, who were handing out friendship cookies to everyone. "Ruby made them and I kept her from eating them afterwards," Yang explained.

Ruby did like sweets a lot. Jake took the bag and thanked the two siblings as they left. As Jake reached his dorm, he deposited the small bag of cookies onto his dresser when he realized that his music player and headphones were gone.

"Who took my music player," He muttered angrily as the door creaked open. He turned to find that Kanade had stolen his music player. "Come on, little kitty, you can't spend Valentine's Day cooped up in your room! Come on, Jake, you've got to get out there. Besides, your music is boring." She laughed as she ran off with his stuff.

"Damn it, Inari, first you throw a pie in my face (Which happened yesterday) and now you steal from me." Jake ran after Kanade and it didn't take long before he caught up with her. He didn't even need to put his speed semblance into effect, because Kanade was really slow.

He grabbed her by the back of the shirt and took his stuff from her. As he was returning to his dorm, Weiss had stopped him. "What is it, Weiss?"

She held out a box of chocolates that seemed really, really expensive. Leave it to an heiress to make Valentine's Day look fancy. "Happy Valentine's Day, Jake, but remember, these are only friendship chocolates. Get it?"

Her flustered expression seemed to contradict what she had just said. That's when Blake came along with a box of chocolates of her own, though, the box of candy she held looked less expensive. "Weiss, is that your gift to Jake? It looks pricier than the chocolates you gave everyone else."

Weiss had achieved a light blush and she began to assault Blake for what anyone else would see as something that lacked reason. "Thank you for the chocolates, Weiss, I appreciate-!" Weiss grabbed Jake's arm and dragged him away.

_Meanwhile, in Team JNPR's dorm room_

Ren gone out on an errand, but left Nora to Jaune and Phyrra, who were having a little bit of trouble keeping her under control. Before Ren had left, Nora had consumed a lot of candy early in the day and began to act even more absolutely ridiculous than she normally is.

She began to speak in speedy sentences and hardly anyone could catch what she said, then she began bouncing across the dorm room from bed to bed, and finally, she went out and started poking everyone's noses, giving out a quick 'Boop'. It took Jaune and Phyrra everything in their power to keep Nora under control and it was extremely difficult to make her act somewhat normal.

Because of how hyper Nora was, Ren couldn't take her with him to town because there was no telling what would happen, especially with all the combat-unfamiliar citizens of Vale walking around.

"How long is she going to be like this?" Jaune grieved at the grueling work that was dumped on him and Phyrra, almost immediately after they woke up that morning.

"Can't we just tie her up, or something?" Jaune asked. Oh, how Phyrra wished it were only that simple.

_In the cafeteria_

Ruby and Relic were enjoying lunch, with Yang keeping a close eye on Relic to make sure nothing…unexpected occurs. That's when Weiss and Jake came in with their own lunches in hand.

Jake with Weiss on Valentine's Day? This intrigued Yang greatly and would most likely end up as another way of teasing the poor Faunus boy.

Yang nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt Blake's hand on her shoulder. "B-Blake, what are you doing here?"

"Keeping you out of Jake's business, Yang," she whispered.

"What about you?"

"This is my business as well, so I suggest you leave immediately, Yang." Yang grumbled furiously under her breath as she left the room.

Blake kept to the shadows, listening in on the conversation between Weiss and Jake.

"Why did you bring me here, Weiss?" Although, Jake began to think, "She'll probably say something like 'No reason, it's not like I like you or anything!'"

"Well, why not! I mean, it's not like I like you or anything!" Weiss quickly replied.

He sure hit the nail right on the head. Ladies and Gentlemen, Weiss' own brand of stupid. Jake decided to play along, hoping that this uncomfortable scene would come to a close soon.

"Of course, Weiss, who would honestly think that? I'm a Faunus, after all, right?" Jake had heard of Weiss' distrust of the Faunus because of the White Fang and their criminal relationship with the Schnee Dust Company.

Weiss didn't know how to respond to that. Ruby and Relic jumped in on this dreadfully embarrassing conversation. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"Hello, Ruby, Relic. It's good to see you. Won't you have a seat?" The two gladly obliged and Weiss was angry. "They don't have to sit here!" Jake grinned. He was beginning to see why Yang and Kanade loved teasing him so much.

"Don't you think it would be better to have some company, Weiss, I mean, it's not like you like me, right?" Weiss started mumbling; trying to find the right words, but eventually gave up and just sulked silently. "So, what's up you two, I see you guys are finally going at it," he said to Ruby and Relic, though it was more of a question than a statement. "What do you mean by 'going at it', Jake?" Relic asked nervously. He laughed. "I mean dating, Rel. You two seem so close; I figured that you two had started dating."

Relic began mumbling incoherently in this suggestion and Ruby began to deny it. "W-Why would we be dating? We've barely known each other," Ruby exclaimed. Jake chuckled a little.

"Yeah, you're right, Ruby. You two couldn't start dating that fast." Ruby was outraged. She slammed her hands onto the table and shouted, "Like you're one to talk! You started dating Blake in a flash!" In a strange way, that outburst seemed like a strong bit of evidence that Ruby did, in fact, like Relic.

In the shadows, Blake smiled as she listened in on Jake's teasing.

At hearing Ruby's outrage, Weiss began to look down in disappointment as Ruby mentioned that he was dating Blake. She knew already that Jake had been dating her for a few months, but it was still a bit painful to be reminded of that.

_Back to Team JNPR_

After Ren had finally come home from his chores, Jaune and Phyrra had rushed out the door as he came in, dumping the overly hyperactive Nora onto the poor boy. Those two had taken all that they could possibly handle.

After Jaune and Phyrra had left their dorm, they went up to the roof to practice combat. Phyrra was currently teaching Jaune how to disarm someone while engaged in combat. The combat part was easy, the disarming part, not so easy. Phyrra kept breaking out of Jaune's grasp, due to the fact that Jaune wasn't entirely sure how to go about knocking the Phyrra's weapon out of her hands. It was especially difficult after Jaune had accidentally grabbed one of Phyrra's breasts while trying to relieve her of her weapon.

After he had let go and backed up, he quickly apologized and she's punched him in the gut on instinct. She made the excuse that the blow to the torso was part of practice because he had given up on disarming when it happened.

After practice, Jaune and Phyrra began to eat lunch on the edge of the roof and afterwards, they took a walk through Vale. They rummaged through stores and came across a pawn shop that sold really old and used items. Phyrra came across an old teddy bear which was beaten, ripped and sewn back together.

It looked so sad. The bear was missing an eye, as well as a leg. Whoever patched the bear up must've been too lazy to fix it up anymore than just sewing the rips together. Phyrra bought the bear and brought it back to Beacon.

After taking a peak into their Team's dorm, they were relieved to find that Ren and Nora were gone. Ren was probably chasing her down right now.

Phyrra found a spool of thread and began to help fix the bear. Jaune searched the dorm and managed to find a loose button on one of Ren's robes. "I'm sure he won't notice," he said as he took the button and handed it to Phyrra. She patched the bear up and made a new arm and leg for it with Jaune's help.

Eventually, they finished fixing the bear. "There, it looks much better now." She handed the bear to Jaune. "Happy Valentine's Day, Jaune," she said.

_Team RWBY's dorm_

Yang was angry that Blake made her leave the scene. She kicked the wall and furniture, excluding the beds, knowing that she would probably cause them to fall over. She heard a knock on the door and opened it to reveal Charlotte waiting outside. "Oh, hey Charlotte, what's up?"

"Nothing much, my Team from the Academy at Atlas finally moved here and Team CNDL has finally adjusted to life at Beacon."

"Cool, but why are you here?" Charlotte leaned in towards Yang and, with confidence practically leaking out of her, asked, "I love you, Yang!" The blonde berserker just stood there in stunned silence.

She was the girl to say that. No wait, scratch that, she's the first STUDENT to say that. None of the boys would ever bring up the courage to tell her, either because they were nervous about their crush or because they were nervous about her monstrous strength, it didn't matter, but this Faunus was brave enough to admit it and she didn't seem the least bit nervous or embarrassed about it.

"Okay, okay, hold up, kitty. Are you sure you're talking to the right person?" Charlotte nodded her head immediately. Not the least bit scared.

"You don't even know what I'm like!" Charlotte didn't back down from this, though. "I do, though! Jake mentioned you in one of his letters!"

Oh boy, this probably isn't going to end well. "Just for curiosity's sake, what did he say about me, exactly?"

Charlie thought for a second before listing all the things Jake said about her in his letters.

**Cool**

**Kinda hot, but I won't even bother with her**

**Scary**

**Insanely powerful**

**Overly obsessed with her own hair**

**Over protective of her sister**

**Repels all boys with her crazy strength**

**Combustible Aura**

**Very, very scary**

**Takes things to the extreme**

After Charlie was finished with the list, Yang's eyes had turned red and she excused herself to go beat up Jake…again. Charlotte followed after the object of her crush, smiling and tagging along, not even thinking about how Yang was ready to tear her twin a new one.

_Back at the Cafeteria_

Blake watched as Jake smiled and laughed with everyone else and decided to come out. When she finally revealed herself, everyone began to feel the presence of something dark and menacing coming their way. They looked over and saw Yang with a furious expression on her face.

When Jake saw Charlotte standing next to her, smiling and waving at him, he groaned. Yang charged forth at Jake, ready bust a hole in the school with Jake, when he got up and jumped out of her way. "Gotta go, you guys!"

He sped off to Grimm Studies class and ran smack into Professor Port. "Are you alright, Mr. Martin, you should be careful where you step." The professor noticed the blonde-haired monster that was chasing him and helped Jake up.

"Normally, I'd say 'Run like the devil's at your heels', but it looks like you've already got that."

Jake nodded and continued through the various halls of the Academy. Jake eventually ran into Charlotte again and asked her to point Yang in the wrong direction while he hid from her. She nodded and agreed to do so, but when Yang caught up and asked where Jake was, she smiled and pointed at the entrance to the Sparring Classroom where Jake hid.

Yang ran in and found Jake trying to hide behind a desk. "Damn it, Charlie!" Jake jumped over to the arena at the end of the room. He was cornered. There was only one way out of the classroom and that was the door that Jake entered through. Yang was blocking the door.

_An Hour Later_

Jake had been found in the Sparring Arena by Professor Goodwitch and Professor Ozpin. He had been left in the arena beaten senseless and unconscious. It was going to be hard to forget this Valentine's Day.

_At the Infirmary_

Getting stuck in the infirmary seemed to be a thing around Beacon, at least, for Jake.

Jake had gotten visitors. Weiss, Xavier, Ruby, Relic, and Blake came to see Jake after he had regained consciousness. "Thank goodness, you're awake," Ruby exclaimed. "Good to see you're still alive, Jake," Xavier commented with a grin.

"Yeah, thanks for the vote of confidence, dude." He didn't dare get up, knowing how painful it might be, considering what Yang did to him last time. "Where's Yang right now?"

"She's back at our dorm," Blake said, "As is your sister. We plan to have them punished later."

Jake groaned again, and even that seemed painful. "How many times have you been sent to the infirmary because you made Yang angry, Jake?" Relic asked. Jake didn't want to answer that question.

_A few hours later_

After the pain had ceased, Jake had begged the nurses to discharge him from the infirmary for the rest of the day. After they finally relented, Jake headed over to the cafeteria and bought himself canned coffee.

He sat at one of the tables and drank his coffee in silence when Weiss entered. "Hello, Weiss. What's up, you look upset."

"Why did you leave the infirmary, you're not supposed to be out yet."

"It's only painful to turn and bend over now, Weiss. I'm fine right now, trust me." She wasn't convinced, however. In fact, she looked more disappointed than ever, even a little sad. "What about the scars on your back?"

He paused and put his coffee down. "The scars don't hurt as much now, though, I admit, they hurt the most. Anyways I'm done laying in a room that reeks of antibiotics, so I plan to go back to my dorm and spend the rest of today hiding from that monster you call your teammate."

Again, Weiss looked disappointed with Jake's decision. "Maybe you could just go out to Vale for the day. It's certainly better than being holed up in your room."

"I guess so, but I'm not planning to go out there alone today. I'm going to go ask Blake to accompany me." As he headed for the door, he felt Weiss grab his arm.

"What is it, Weiss?" Jake asked. Weiss reluctantly released his arm and muttered, "Nothing at all. Go on ahead to Vale."

Jake nodded, "Right, I'll see you later, Weiss."

If only she had the courage to tell him how she felt.

**After-chapter note:**

**Valentine's Day chapter finished. FINALLY! Again, I apologize for submitting it so late. Comments and reviews are greatly appreciated.**


	15. The Operation

Chapter 15

The Operation

Teams RWBY and HIJX were called to the Headmaster's office during their Grimm Studies class.

"Now, I'm going to get right to the point. This isn't a regular mission that the school gives to just any student that walks along. You have been gathered here because I have information on the White Fang's headquarters."

"How did you get Adam to release this information, sir?" Blake asked. "I'm afraid that that is something you may not want to know, Ms. Belladonna."

"Adam has also revealed a number of things to us along with the White Fang headquarters, although it's not entirely solid info yet. He said the reason why he was after you, Jake, is that they needed 'Gemini'!"

Jake flinched at the name. "I assume you might know something about that?"

He relented, "Gemini, the twins, he wasn't just after me. He probably would've gone after Charlie once I was captured."

"And why is that, Jake?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I only heard bits and pieces of this operation of theirs. The White Fang have been gathering specific Faunus for this operation and apparently, my dad had signed me up for it. My sister too, but then the authorities found him and he had to leave the scene, but not before I was freed. I don't know what exactly they're up to, but it's definitely not good."

"The Faunus they're looking for have been individuals who take up what I think they called the 'Zodiac Masks'." Ozpin thought for a second before mentioning Adam's mask.

"Shall I take Adam's mask to Professor Rune, sir?" Prof. Goodwitch asked. Ozpin nodded in response and she left the room. "Now that all of that is out of the way, we need to discuss infiltration."

_One Hour Later…_

"What? There's no way that we're doing that," Weiss blurted out as Ozpin finished speaking. "What do you have against this plan, Weiss? It's not like you're the one risking your life," Yang noted. Jake and Blake were the one's taking the biggest risk in the mission.

The plan was for Blake to pose as a member who had been spying on Ozpin and Goodwitch under the ruse that she had left the White Fang for their cruel new ways of getting things done. She'll give them specific info that Ozpin had given her permission to give in order to win over their trust, but just in case they still don't believe her, that's where Jake comes in.

Jake is to act as though he's a prisoner under Blake's watch. She'll hand him over to the soldiers of the White Fang and gain their favor. Afterwards, both Blake and Jake are to find out as much as they can about Operation Alpha before their Teams, along with a few additions, come to pick them up from the base.

"I'm sorry Ms. Schnee, but it's their job in this mission, not yours." Kanade laughed and muttered, "Why don't you come back with a pair of bunny ears, then we'll talk!"

"Be quiet, Inari," Haley demanded, to which Kanade replied with a raspberry.

"Weiss, we're going to be fine. Don't worry about us," Blake assured her. "You just worry about your own job," Jake replied.

Weiss remained unconvinced, or it could've been stubbornness. That certainly was one of her stronger flaws.

"Why are you so worried about Jake and Blake in the first place, Weiss?" Xavier asked. "I thought you weren't fond of the Faunus." Xavier had a point. Weiss never really thought very many of the Faunus as anything other than a potential criminal. Very few Faunus were actually trusted by her.

"Could it be because of Jake?" Kanade pondered in a teasing tone. Haley smacked Kanade in the back of the head. "Let's just hurry up and get the mission over with."

Ozpin stopped the two teams before they could. "Remember, your first priority is information. Find out whatever you can about Operation Alpha and, if it's possible, destroy all research they have regarding the subject. Second priority is taking key members into custody."

_Later…_

Blake found a group of White Fang grunts lingering around Vale and managed to get their attention. Jake was knocked out cold in her arms. In order to make her story believable, Jake had to be sedated and knocked out cold in order for her to successfully deceive them.

The White Fang members called in an airship and had Blake rendezvous with them at the docks. Blake had a tracker hidden somewhere in her clothes that no one would ever dare to check, lest they wish to get a beating.

_Hint, hint!_

The airship flew across the sea for a good long while as they left Vale. Blake was greeted on the airship by a strikingly pretty woman who was accompanied by Roman Torchwick. "I don't think I've ever seen you before," Blake muttered to the woman.

"I don't suppose you have," she replied, "You did a splendid job bringing this boy in. He was a tough one to capture. At least, for those filthy grunts, it was."

"Not to mention Horn Boy failed on his end too," Roman commented, most likely, about Adam.

"May I ask what you need this boy for?" Blake asked.

"Yes, for someone so skilled, I suppose you deserve to know." The woman, Cinder, began to explain to Blake the goal of Operation Alpha.

_The objective in Operation Alpha is to research ways to control the Creatures of Grimm, much like the Grimm Alpha, which the project was named after. After a few years, the researchers in the White Fang managed to find a way to control them. That mask that Adam wore was a device created by the White Fang's scientists to control the Creatures of Grimm. We took DNA from a number of Grimm and applied it to the masks. Our methods for control are still imperfect, so we're not done with the project just yet._

"Unfortunately, very few Faunus in the White Fang are willing to be experimented on for the project, so the White Fang have been monitoring Faunus that aren't members to see if they're up to the task of experimentation," Roman replied, "That kid's father saw him as a worthy candidate, so he attempted to bring him in by force years ago, before we had to start working with you…people."

"Unfortunately, the Vale authorities had caught the White Fang before they could begin their tests. Not surprising, though. The White Fang wasn't as prepared for the situation back then as they are now."

That's what Operation Alpha is?

"How do you get your test subjects to cooperate?" Blake asked. "Well, we want them to be in perfect health, so, sadly, we can't torture them," Roman replied, "We just use a little mental influence and their all ours."

What does he mean by 'mental influence'?

That was the question that echoed in Blake's mind the most as she was led to her quarters.

**Author's Note: Sorry if this chapter is a little half-assed. I've had some trouble in school and had to postpone further work on this chapter. Now that I'm finished, though, I'm a little relieved. The White Fang's secret operation is finally revealed! Dun, Dun, DUUUUUUNN!**

**Also, if anyone has any questions for me regarding the story, feel free to ask. The questions, as well as the answers, will be posted in the Author's Note at the end of the chapters I work on at the time.**

**Thanks again for reading my stuff.**

**Reploid7,**

**Signing off!**


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